WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 2, 2014) — The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) is pleased to announce that they have reached a new agreement with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide educational materials to State and local transportation officials, public safety officials, community leaders, motorists and the media about innovative technologies, programs, and policies that make our nation’s roads safer.
Section 1519(a) of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), authorized the funding of the agreement and RSF received the award based upon its previous successful work with FHWA in this area.
“This agreement will help us substantially build on our ongoing efforts to increase awareness of new roadway safety technologies and design features that are proven to reduce crashes and minimize their impacts,” said Greg Cohen, Executive Director of the Roadway Safety Foundation.
Despite an overall positive trend of decreasing fatalities on our roadways over the years, more than 33,000 people each year are still killed in traffic crashes in the U.S.
The term “roadway safety” refers specifically to the physical features, operational conditions, and surrounding environment of roads, including engineered safety technologies on roads and bridges, intersections and interchanges, and along the roadsides.
“Studies have shown that the physical characteristics of roads themselves contribute to more than half of the country’s traffic fatalities each year*,” said Cohen. “But, the good news is that there are many new crash countermeasures, that, when implemented, save lives, reduce the severity of injuries, and even prevent crashes from occurring.”
As part of the new agreement, RSF will develop a new internet and social media portal that provides the latest information to community safety leaders and transportation professionals on newly available research and technologies. Sub-topics, such as safety technologies for aging drivers, will be an integral part of the portal.
The agreement also provides for wide distribution of the newly completed Roadway Safety Guide: A Primer for Community Leaders both in print and on-line. The guide includes links to resources and a wealth of information, checklists and best practices that communities can use to improve road safety on neighborhood roads. The guide can be found on RSF’s website at www.roadwaysafety.org.
For additional information on RSF, please visit www.roadwaysafety.org; on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/roadwaysafetyfoundation; and on Twitter at @roadway_safety.
The Roadway Safety Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through improvements to roadway systems and their environment. For additional information please visit www.roadwaysafety.org.
* On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways; A Study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; May 2009.
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